Multiplayer game without a host player

Question

I want to create a multiplayer game using the Unity engine. I have played around with Mirror and Photon but they both seem to require a "Host" player to start a served game. Is there any other option to create a game using either of these to make it so you can just join a game server which will put you into a game with other people who chose the same server?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, I just can't find anything on this.

Answer 1

Photon has a few different topologies you can choose from:

In Server topology, you can run a game that doesn't need a host. This is commonly known as "Server Authoritative".

For this method, note that Photon must run a "headless" Unity instance to govern the game's state, rules, and physics. In some cases, this instance functions much like a "Host", except that it is not a human player. So perhaps there are some cases where the word "Host" is synonymous with "Authoritative Server", and it's causing confusion. But rest assured, there is a way to host the game on a dedicated server, without a human's client being authoritative.

More info:

https://doc.photonengine.com/en-us/server/v4/reference/authoritative-server